A collection of Long Haul’s best documentaries, produced over our 30 year history.
The Lights of Wrigleyville
For 40+ years, Wrigley Field was the only Major League baseball park without lights–that is, until a battle pitting MLB and big business against a well-organized neighborhood put the business of baseball in the spotlight. It’s the 80+ year saga that ended on 8/8/88: the night the lights went on at Wrigley Field. Ot's a classic Long Haul - a neighborhood that wants to be heard, fighting an entity that just won't listen. We're exceptionally proud of this epic story, and as diehard Cubs fans, it was a delight for us to report and produce. Check out the great video preview, and note that due to ESPN’s restrictions we can’t post the whole story on our SoundCloud, but you can listen to the full documentary on their site.
The Natural State
A Song+Stories collaboration with musician Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Billy), that documents a series of unusual earthquakes in Arkansas caused by natural gas fracking.
Another Lousy day
Chicago writer David Kodeski found two diaries from 1960 and 1961 in a resale shop. The diaries' author, a single, working woman who lived on the city's South Side, wrote meticulously about her everyday life: how she flirted with her co-workers, fought with her Dad, shopped for things she didn't need, and searched for happiness as she worried about her weight and hairdo. Long Haul adapted Kodeski's critically-acclaimed, one-man performance piece of the same name; Diana Slickman reads the diary entries. This story won the National Federation of Community Broadcasters Special Merit Award.
The Swap Shop
For 60 years, people in northwest Tennessee have tuned each weekday at noon to a radio program on WENK/WTPR called The Swap Shop, a radio version of the classified ads. Long Haul sent Nashville-based musician Kurt Wagner (of the great band Lambchop) some program excerpts; he responded with a song, Paperback Bible. It’s another installment in our critically-acclaimed Song+Story series.
The Potato Ball Incident
On August 31, 1987, one of baseball's most peculiar plays took place in the minor leagues in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was a variation of the age-old hidden ball trick, except it involved a hidden potato. We hear from the man responsible for the play and two people who witnessed it.
Dog Mountain: A love Story
This is a love story—between two artists, and a whole lot of dogs. It’s also the story of what it means to follow a dream, and the difficulties that can bring. It’s the epic story of Vermont artists Stephen and Gwen Huneck, and their life’s work: a place called Dog Mountain.